<![CDATA[PAWSITIVELY PERFECT PETS ! - BLOG]]>Fri, 04 Sep 2026 19:34:25 -0300Weebly<![CDATA[Doodleholic !]]>Sat, 12 Oct 2013 13:17:43 GMThttps://www.scotiadoodles.com/blog/doodleholicWell it's official. I am now a doodleholic. Last night I counted out how many I have in my breeder program. I'm up to 27 ! If that's not an addiction then I don't know what is.
Of course most of these Doods live elsewhere and just come for visits with their guardians but that's still a lot of dogs. We have active breeders and up and coming pups, we have Labradoodles, Goldendoodle and DoubleDoodles. Someone asked me if I was going to get into Bernadoodles or AussieDoodles but I draw the line there... for now.  Not sure yet if there temperaments are what I am breeding for.
I think we best stick with our current focus which is mainly on the mini and small mediums , with the occasional larger Std size litter.
Reno's in the basement are almost complete. Just have to finish the floor. It's been so much easier having the pups in the puppy area of the rec room. I can do everything I need from there now including letting them outside in their very own Puppy pen. The double wide utility sink was the best purchase for the reno by far. All the grooming, bathing, feeding. cleaning and mopping is now easily done in the laundry\grooming room. the rec room has gone from a 1970's nightmare to a 21st century puppy pad, where visitors can enjoy their time with the pups without competition from the big dogs.
The pen area is under the front deck facing the lake. It's sheltered by the wind but gets enough sunlight too. It will soon connect to the larger pen on the side\back of the house  so that when we don't have pups , we can leave the gate to the larger pen open and the big dogs can use it as well. Thanks to Mitch , Jacob, Hunter, Aidan and Ethan for all their hard work digging it out.

Last night I picked up two more Doodles. Winnie's parents. Their breeder was getting out of the business and offered them to me. Knowing Winnie as such a sweet thing, I couldn't resist the chance to bring her parents to NS. We've found great guardian homes for them. Pal (3) will be living with Nicole and Michael in Prospect Bay and Rosebud (2.5) will live with Leslie and Jim in Sambro.
Both are Mini goldendoodles  with apricot coats. We'll get Pal tested right away in hopes that he is ready for Evie and Tabitha's upcoming breedings. Rosebud just had a litter  in the summer so we'll let her rest up and breed her in 2014.
Tabitha is also new to us. She is a four year old mini goldendoodle from Ontario. Very light cream in color. She'll be having her first litter  this winter if all goes as planned with Teddy (Evie & Nash 2012) and possible Pal. I haven't had much luck with these dual sired litters so far but it doesn't hurt to try.

We also have a new litter in the house. Ariel and Mason's pups were born Oct 9th. 5 wee little munchkins. 3 parti's ( 2 caramel curly boys, 1 black fleece girl) and two blacks with white chests like Mason ( 1 boy , 1 girl).  We plan to keep the B&W parti girl in the breeding program and have named her Clara-Belle after the Disney animated Cow in the 1940's. She has the cutest handlebar mustache. The two parti boys have a fair amount of ticking ( freckling) so will be interestign to see if those fade or get darker as they grow. Ariel is a great little mom. very attentive to the babies.





]]><![CDATA[Long time... no blog ..]]>Sat, 12 Oct 2013 12:27:21 GMThttps://www.scotiadoodles.com/blog/long-time-no-blogWow, I can't believe it's been a year sce I last blogged. I guess that showsme that my blog following is not that high because no one complained :)

 oh well  here it is. how to start after o ong. Lets just say I have been busy. It's a good kind of busy but bsy none the less,

Our first two litters arrived on June 6th 2012 and 8th.  Daisy went first with her litter of 4, Piper, Louis, Santi and Fergus. Two dys later Halle urprised me as we were heading into Mitch's fishing derby. She showed no signs of labour and hd her first pup on teh kitcen floor. YIKES! what a shock that was. She was ok though and the rest of the pups were born in the whelping box. She had 6 in her first litter. Millie, Maiya, Fern, Lemon, Farely and Bear. All are doing well  with their families.

Bonnie was next. we hoped to breed her to sandford in Setember but at 9 months he was not ready so Sawyer stepped up to the plate as did ranger but sawyer won out via Live cover over rangers AI and they had 6 beautiful pups on Nov 29th. Rusty, Tilly, Ginger, Marley, Ralphie and Randy. Tilly remain sin our breeding program in a guardian home in Bedford and is co-owned by Sawyers owner Sue Wilde of Labradoodles by design.

A few weeks later our surprise  litter arrived. Evie had arrived from Texas at the en of October. As a three year od sh was having a tough transition, little did we know she was pregnant at the time and had smuggled 7 puppies in her tummy across the border, Take that customs agents ! her foster mom woke to find three puppies in her crate and by the time I arrive 3 more had arrived. I was there for the ast. Thank goodness she was an experienced mom and knew what to do. We packed them p, and took them home.Moved onnie into my edroom and Evie into the Office. This of course happened the same weekend I was having my Xmas open house party.. what is it with me and party's?
All Evie's puppies found great homes. Mateo,Lucy, Charlie as pets. Halli as a breeder trade with  Helen of Goldebelle kennels in Ontario  and Teddy an Flannery as members of our breeding program and coowned by Sue Wilde.

In addition to Evie, we also had ,many new breeeding dogs join us. Abbey,,Mason,Murphy,Ariel,Willow,Felix,Winnie and Henry.




]]><![CDATA[Oh My, what a year it's been !]]>Sat, 12 Oct 2013 12:26:10 GMThttps://www.scotiadoodles.com/blog/oh-my-what-a-year-its-beenWow. I have been terribly remiss in not blogging for a year. I apologize to all my fans ( all two of you ).
 so here we are 5 litters later, 30 pups later and now 18 breeding dogs in the program. Hmmm. yes, it's been busy .

Our first two litters arrived within 2 days of each other last June 6th and 8th. Daisy had 4 pups and Halle had 6. It was a busy time. We learned alot and foundsome wonderful families for those pups. All are doing well and are coming upon their first Birthday's in just a few weeks.
We  kept one breeder from Daisy's litter. Fergus who filled a slot  as a medium chocolate stud for both Labradoodles by design and Scotia Doodles. Thank you Lucy, Cam, Maria and Grace for working with us . We plan to give Fergus a chance to sire his first litter later this month with Bonnie.

Jump ahead a few months and Bonnie's first litter. We attempted to dual sire the litter with Ranger and Sawyer of LBD  as my two males, Mason and Sandford were not quite ready yet. As it turned out all 6 pups, born Nov 29th were Sawyer pups. Again we found wonderful homes where these pups are loved. We kept one female in a guardian home. Tilly, the larger curly red female . Thanks Kathy and Bob for taking care of our sweet girl  !

Two weeks later, we had quite the shock when Evie, our female mini merle goldendoodle  who had arrived from Texas at the end of October, delivered 7 pups. She smuggled 7 pups across the border unbeknownst to us . Evie was a pro though, having had several litters before, so took great care of her pups while joiing us here for the whelping and weaning process. She has since found a wonderful home with Jane and Tom. What would we do without our wonderful guardians ? we kept two pups from her litter for our breeeding program. Flannery, who joined existing giardian family Karen and Dawn and Teddy who made  his new guardian Mom Ruth a very happy lady.

Aside from the pups retained from our litters we also had Murphy, Abbey, Mason, Ariel and Willow, Winnie  and Felix join us here at Scotia doodles. Murphy, Felix and  Willow are our first Double doodles. Murphy (Texas - lives with Karen and Dawn), Felix (Ontario  -lives with mark and Stacey) and Willow (Winnipeg - lives with Deborah  and Dave) .
Our Aus Labradoodle newbies are Abbey  (Texas -lives with char and Josh), Mason ( Georgia- lives with Lisa and Todd,) and Ariel (Ottawa -llves with Nancey and Brian). All have been palced with guardians where they enjoy the love and support of their families.  Thanks guys, you rock !

That leaves Winnie, our newest member here at Scotia Doodles. She is an F2 mini Goldendoodle that lives with us here .  I know I know, I said 5 was my limit but she just fit in so well . Such a sweet little creature. we call her Wagging Winnie.  Now if you think that was enough there is still one more arriving tomorrow night . His name is not decided yet but he is Felix's half brother. a Large mdeium Double doodle who will live with guardians Patricia and Greg.

Whew, I am tired just thinking of all this but I'm not done yet . On sSaturday Halle delivered 7 healthy pups . Daddy Crosby was pacing nearby... not really but it sounds good... he really could care less. We don't have all these pups spoken for but I'm not worried as people are looking for pups this time of year. Plus i'm working on a trade.. yes I know, another dog ! how many holes do I have in my head you say ? Well Crosyy is under utilized so we want another medium lady to use with him.
To make things sound even crazier Bonnie started her heat cycle today so she will be bred within the  next two weeks .
We also plan to breed Daisy, Ariel and Evie again this year for 5 litters in total this year.

We are also anxiously awaiting word from our friend Suzanne O'Brien whom bred her Std Goldendoodle Bailey to Crosby in Feb and is due this week as well as my friend and mentor Sue Wilde who bred her girl Sophie to Crosby as well. Yes, he has been busy . Best of luck to those ladies and the mom's to be. These are the first litters for both girls.


On top of all that we have been doing some DOODLE related reno's. 4 litters last year showed me that we need to setup an area dedicated to the breeding,whelping and grooming. This is not a large home by any means but we have a basement that was really not gettig much use so I stole some room from the utility room to expand the laundry room area which was unfinished and have created "The Doodlemat" a combination, laundry room, grooming room, puppy room . It's almost ready. still some painting to do. some light fixtures to go up and a  double wide utility sink for bathing to plumb in. We also plan to revamp the rec room area which is already finished but needs some work. We'll tear up the 1977 shag carpet and put down vinyl laminate, paint and declutter. Outside the walkout basement under the front deck we are making a puppy pen. That is a project Mitch is working on which requires some teeange sweat  as we have to dig down to level an area off . We picked up some used kennel panels and patio bricks for the base. Hoping to have it ready in a few weeks when the pups are ready to go outside . That way all the pup related activities will be located in the basement, making life easier for everyone. we'll also move the adult dog feeding to the doodlemat area to free up space in my kitchen . I can't wait to have this finished.. which reminds me, it's time for another coat of paint  on the  doodlemat floor before I hit the sack !

Before I head off to the doodlemat with paint roller in hand ,I'd like to send a big thanks to my dear friend and mentor Sue Wilde. Sue and I now co-own 10 breeding dogs together . Sue, I could not have gotten this far without your continued support and guidance.  You are a very special lady.  I have been truly blessed with wonderful friends and am grateful to count you among them !

Night all !





]]><![CDATA[The time is near ...]]>Sun, 27 May 2012 12:15:39 GMThttps://www.scotiadoodles.com/blog/the-time-is-nearOnly 2-3 weeks out before the puppies arrive. Both Daisy and Halle are showing now  and eating more. This week I'll focus on getting their whelping boxes ready and pickup a few supplies like heating pads, hemostats, puppy food (for the mommas while nursing). So far things appear to be moving along nicely. My fear is that they will deliver on the same day.
The summer weather has arrived so we are spending much more time at the lake. Today I hope to start short little walks with Daisy and Halle since that is good exercise for them this close to delivery.

Still a few reservations left on Hall's litter but I'm not too concerned. Once the puppies arrive and I post pics I'm sure they will find good homes.

Yesterday we visited Iris and Sandford to install their E-Fence. Thanks Mitch and Jacob. Great job burying the wire !. I'll go back in a few days to start the training with Sandford so he doesn't get zapped too often. He's so cute ! Perfect confirmation and sweet temperament. I am considering using him with Bonnie this fall if we don't get some booking for her and Sawyer soon but that will depend on if I can broker a trade for a Halle\Crosby pup for a med female. I really need another female I can use with Crosby. If I can't trade then my next best option would be a larger female from Bonnie\Sawyer.

 There's a lot going on here these days as we prepare for the arrival of our first litters. Exciting times !


]]><![CDATA[The Building of a Mini Empire]]>Fri, 27 Apr 2012 20:34:19 GMThttps://www.scotiadoodles.com/blog/the-building-of-a-mini-empireIt occurred to me the other day that I have taken my breeding program in a new direction. 5 of my 7 Labradoodles are Mini's. I hadn't really set out to specialize in mini's but it's worked out that way . Originally , when this was just me adding a 2nd dog to  our family I was looking at a Medium sized water loving dog that didn't shed. When it became apparent that Daisy was not going to be as large as I initially hoped,  I was already totally in love with her and the Mini's in general. I had never been a fan of small dogs . Found them too barky and fearful but the Mini Labradoodles have changed my opinion . These little guys are  big dogs in little bodies. Perfect for families with smaller yards, small kids, older people, people who like to travel. I was surprised to find that many of the inquiries I get for my Labradoodles are also for Mini's so I think the idea has caught on. So I guess it makes sense that I as I added more breeders to my program, they were mini's. I expect to add two more ladies to the program in the next year.  A female from Daisy\Newbie's litter who hopefully will carry for Phantom and a red female from Bonnie\Sawyer\Sandford litter planned for the fall. ( Yes two Daddies maybe.... we'll see ).

I still love my big guys too.  Halle and Crosby are great and I will continue to breed for mediums and Standards but not as many litters as the mini's per year for the next few years. Our path has been set and it's with the Mini's.


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]]><![CDATA[Welcome to the Parti's ! Abbey and Mason join Scotia Doodles]]>Sat, 21 Apr 2012 16:40:16 GMThttps://www.scotiadoodles.com/blog/welcome-to-the-partis-abbey-and-mason-join-scotia-doodlesWe are having a parti and you are invited !  Abbey and Mason join us from Texas and Georgia. On top of the breedings that took place recently I was working on adding  more parti pups to our program and was very fortunate to find two lovely pups to compliment Sandford, our existing parti pup. In order to produce parti's ( at least 50% white and 1 other color) you must breed two parti carriers. I found Abbey at Labradoodle Babies in Texas. Her beautiful markings and deep chocolate coloring attracted me immediately to her as well as the new American lines in her pedigree. She arrived last Friday night and quickly stole our hearts. Such a tiny thing. I think she may not even be as big as Daisy but she is full of spunk and seems not to notice she is the smallest of the pack. Thank you Suzan for this gorgeous girl.
The morning after Abbey arrived I received and email from  Valerie at Memory Lake Labradoodles in Georgia. Valerie and I had been discussing a potential trade months ago but the litter she had then did not produce the pup I was looking for . Valerie had recently posted on the breeders forum about trying to find a home for her mini black male puppy whom she felt was perfect but had no room for in her program. He carried for chocolate, cream and parti.  As a  parti carrier he can produce parti's with Abbey . As a black he can produce deep reds  and blacks with Bonnie and with Daisy he can produce all three solid colors. I had approached her prior to Abbey's arrival but by then another breeder was  involved . Then that breeder backed out and so Valerie approached me  about him. Having just brought Abbey home I thought there was no way I could make it work but Valerie was super and we worked a deal to allow him to come to NS.  Valerie I won't let you down !
Unfortunately we have no more room in our house for another full time pup and with two litters hopefully  arriving in weeks I don't feel we have the time to give a new pup . So in fairness to Abbey and Mason we sought permanent guardian homes for them. Again my wonderful friends and family stepped in. Abbey is living next door at my best friends house and Mason just down the street with my cousin Todd and his family. Both families already have dogs so the pups will have best buddies to live with and will visit here often with the doodle pack.
Yesterday , Lisa and I took Abbey and Mason to the vets for their initial checkups. Both checked out fine. We then headed to Herring  Cove to introduce them to Sandford. He was thrilled to have the puppies to play with. At almost 5 month and 17 lbs  he far out weighed the 10 lb Mason and 7 lb Abbey but they still managed to wrestle and play in the backyard. The picture below is a little photoshop project from one of the pictures taken yesterday. From left to right: Abbey,(13 weeks) Mason( 14 weeks), Sandford.(4.5 months)
Welcome to the Parti !
Picture
]]><![CDATA[Who ever said you needed to be sane to be a dog breeder ?]]>Sun, 15 Apr 2012 16:04:12 GMThttps://www.scotiadoodles.com/blog/who-ever-said-you-needed-to-be-sane-to-be-a-dog-breederI think it is the opposite. Four females in heat at the same time, plus two un-neutered males, makes for 1 crazy house.
Things started when I agreed to care for a friends Goldendoodle Bailey while she was out of town. Bailey started her cycle and triggered Daisy, who triggered Halle who triggered Bonnie. Crosby was in heaven until... Newbie arrived. Newbie flew in from Ontario to be bred to Daisy. After our miss with AI in the  fall we didn't want to take any chances this time. Newbie, being the pro that he is, was ready from the get go but we realized having two males in the same house with all these gals was an exercise in stupidity. Luckily my wonderful family members stepped in again and offered to help out. Newbie joined Cooper the Cocker Spaniel at the Umlah house down the street and visited us for romantic trists with Daisy. Thank you Thank you Thank you Lisa, Todd, Alyssa and Jessie.
 One by one the girls got through their cycle . No accidental breedings. No fighting amongst the males. How we pulled this off I don't know . I must be  a master at playing musical dogs !

So soon we'll have two litters on the way . Due mid June. So much to do in a relatively short period of time. well this is what I have been waiting for .  Halle and Daisy 's pregnancies will be confirmed via ultrasound on May 10th. 
Wish us luck !

Thank you Louise Sutherland for allowing Newbie ( Geordie) to be shipped to us . ]]><![CDATA[The Puppy Stork is due again tonight - Sandford joins Scotia Doodles]]>Wed, 15 Feb 2012 12:41:24 GMThttps://www.scotiadoodles.com/blog/the-puppy-stork-is-due-again-tonight-sandford-joins-scotia-doodlesPicture
I have been looking for a mini male to compliment Daisy and Bonnie for some time without much success. The challenge was finding one of the right size and color . I wanted  to ensure I stayed away from Black noses as that adds the potential for black pups which are not in demand. Since Bonnie already has a black nose and does not carry for chocolate that meant the best option was a caramel male . One with dark coloring to keep the red coloring she has and pass it on.
At the same time I have been trying to figure out the best way to introduce Parti colors to my lines. Parti is at least 50% white and one other color.

After months of searching I saw a post on the breeders forum for Gabe at Springville Labradoodles. He was exactly what I had been looking for. A mini Parti Carmel and white male who would end up at around the 20lb mark. Some research into his pedigree confirmed that he was the one so I struck a deal with Dixie of Springville Labradoodles. After a few challenging days of trying to figure out how to get a pup from Oregon to NS in Feb we finally found the right connections.
He arrives at midnight tonight.

Sandford ( formerly Gabe) will live with my Aunt Iris in Herring cove where he will undoubtably be spoiled rotten :)
We selected the name Sandford in honour of Sir Sanford Flemming Park. A park on the Arm in Halifax where my Grandparents land bordered. My Aunt, a local historian, grew up playing in the woods of the park. Later my Dad taught us kids a lot about nature on our hikes on the trails there. We often gathered at the Frog Pond for family skating sessions with my cousins in winter . Sandford Fleming was a Scottish immigrant who was involved in the Cross Canada railroad and who  proposed the idea of Standard Time. He owned the property and deeded it to Halifax upon his death.

Please join us in welcoming Sandford to our Doodle Family. While he may live away from the pack he will visit often and be a wonderful ambassador for our breeding program.
]]><![CDATA[My Newest Hobby]]>Sat, 07 Jan 2012 14:42:12 GMThttps://www.scotiadoodles.com/blog/my-newest-hobbyWinter has arrived. The evenings are dark and long . TV sucks... so how is a girl suppose to switch off the rambling thoughts in her head if there are not good distractions.  The Answer... Knitting.. Yeah, yeah I know. that's for old ladies right... well I guess I'm not spring chicken anymore and quite frankly it's a hobby I can do while sitting on my butt in front of the crappy TV and the initial investment is small. Some cheap yarn , a few sets of needles and viola.

So what to knit... no one wants to wear homemade stuff anymore and I have plenty of throws and blankets so  those were out. The answer. Dog sweaters. Why not. My guys like the great outdoors even in the cold and if I can prevent them from getting too cold and full of snow balls in the process it makes sense. Not to mention it's darn cute to see a dog in a sweater.

I found a pattern that seemed easy enough and got my supplies and sat down and realized, I don't know what I'm doing. It's been 30 years since I did this and back then my Mom did all the hard parts. So I had to call in an expert. Mom's site is not so good so I called upon my Aunt Iris who helped me interpret the instructions and then I got the laptop out and googled how to knit. Google really is the best invention of the last century. And so I began...

A couple weeks later my first sweater is done. There are a few mistakes that most people would not notice and I'm sure some stitches could have been tighter but overall it's pretty good. I figured I'd start out with a prototype and hope it fits one of the females.. 4 females and it doesn't fit any. I made a sweater for a medium dog, which I don't have. Someone I know with a medium female( there's pink in it) will be getting a new sweater.
I learned some things and also found a way to relax in the evening and shut off my rambling brain.

Next project. a smaller sweater for Daisy or Bonnie.  one size smaller than the last.

 ]]><![CDATA[Grooming.. an underpaid profession]]>Mon, 14 Nov 2011 04:00:09 GMThttps://www.scotiadoodles.com/blog/grooming-an-underpaid-professionOk so like many people I thought, how hard can it be, right? We'll lets first talk about the investment in the right equipment. Try clipping a doodle with crappy clippers and dull shears. Then once you have the right equipment, you gotta brush out the mats, bath the dog, brush again, clip and trim with shears.  All the while trying to keep the dog, calm and happy and still.
It's a lot of work !  I decided to take it on and the results are ok but not near as nice as the pro's. not to mention the time spent , time I could be spending doing other things.  Oh and did I mention I've only done 3 doodles and have 7 cuts on my hand .. can you say ouch !

So next time I decide to 'save' money by doing it myself. smack me upside the head and tell me to send them to the pro's.

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